Twenty Months

The big 2-0, in months that is! I can't believe how much Alexandra has done in this last month. It has certainly been busy and I am sure that I will leave something out. It is amazing to watch her grow and explore her world. I was looking at some pictures of her from a year ago when she still had those baby cheeks. Now she is a full fledged kid! She has so much fun and is almost always happy. She is becoming quite independent and only gets fussy when we don't let her call the shots - for example, we make her go to bed (I know, how could we?) or get in the stroller when she would rather push it. She thinks shoes are wonderful - a typical girl and really is a girly girl. She loves putting on beads, carrying around her purse and gets so excited when she puts new shoes on for the first time.

Yesterday, Alexandra and I went to Sea World for the special members Christmas unveiling. She had been two times before and only lasted 2 hours each time. Previously she had shown only mild interest in the animals. This time we stayed 4 hours and she was very interested in the animals. She saw both beluga and killer whales, sea turtles, penguins, reindeer, flamingos, fish and dolphins. I think the highlight for both of us was being able to actually touch a dolphin on the nose. Since it was the Christmas celebration, Alexandra also got to meet Mrs. Claus and an elf. She wasn't too sure about them at all!

Earlier in the month, my mom and I had taken her to the Aquarium of the Pacific, which she also seemed to enjoy. It is clear she is an animal lover just like the rest of the family!


On Veteran's Day, I had the opportunity to watch Alexandra's swim lesson since it was a Tuesday. It had been many months since I had been to one and it was amazing to see her improvement. She had a private lesson before the parent-tot class. The big accomplishment of the day was her floating on her back without any support!!! She cried the whole time because she wanted to be in charge, but even her instructor was impressed.

This month we also celebrated Halloween. We went to the pumpkin patch where Alexandra got to see baby chickens. turkeys and pigs. She was more interested in them than the actual pumpkins. A second visit to another pumpkin place proved not as interesting. I think the most fun aspect for her was being able to wander around. Alexandra went trick or treating for the first time, but only to four houses. She went as a lady bug and was so cute. When we got home, she helped pass out candy and thought that was so much fun! She would yell after people she saw outside with a candy in her hands as if to say "Come and get it!" It was the cutest thing. During the day, she went to Dylan's school dressed as Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

Alexandra continues to be a picky eater around mommy and daddy, but did have some bites of mommy's hamburger on Friday night. She likes egg rolls that Marivel makes and eats all kinds of things with her including soup. There is not a fruit that Alexandra does not like which is a really good thing! Two things that Alexandra absolutely loves are ranch dressing and sour cream. We went out to eat for Grandma Janet's birthday and caught her slurping ranch dressing instead of dipping her pizza into the cup! Then one night at dinner, she saw the sour cream and wanted some. It was near the end of the container, so we let her have it and a spoon. She was so blissfully happy! She also loves ice in her drinks and is not shy at all about walking over to the refrigerator and asking for some!

Alexandra has added more words to her vocabulary and is trying hard to say whole sentences. She
says bye-bye all the time and then adds words such as Dya, which we assume means Dylan (Marivel's son). Sometimes it is bye-bye pane or tane when she sees an airplane.

We have some new favorite books which must be read ALL THE TIME! These include: If You Give a Pig a Pancake, Corduroy (about a bear) and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Alexandra's favorite thing to do at Grandma Janet's house is play in the yard. She enjoys waving at airplanes flying overhead. She also thinks it is so much fun to help grandma get the mail. She knows exactly which mailbox is grandmas! Alexandra also is a great helper around the house for mommy and daddy. She insists on helping with laundry and it
is perfect because she can get things out of the dryer much more easily than either of us. She also likes helping to sweep and clean. I wouldn't be surprised if she asks Santa for cleaning supplies for Christmas!


Today we went to breakfast and then Grandma Sara came over for a visit. She will be taking care of Alexandra tomorrow. Alexandra has had quality time with both grandmas this month. In October, we went to the Queen Mary for brunch to celebrate my mom's birthday and Sara, Lorel and David also joined us. Then one weekend Sara came over and watched Alexandra so that I could get some much needed grading done.

Speaking of grading, I have been so overwhelmed with it that I just finally got around to posting Month 19. Please check it out today as well. I think that is it for this month and I need to get back to my grading.

15 Months

Since I have failed miserably at getting the blog updated on time for the last two months, I am going to write this one early in the hopes it will actually be posted on June 16th! Since I am finally on summer vacation, it should be easy. Let's go back to about May 25th since the rest was part of the previous blog post.

On May 27, we took Alexandra to her 1st baseball game. It was a Lake Elsinore Storm game and she had a lot of fun. She loved the mascots most of all, so we made sure she had the chance to meet Thunder, the team mascot.

Now that I am on summer vacation, our days are filled with walks, swimming, playing at the park, naps and even shopping. Miss A is taking swim lesson on Saturday mornings and loves jumping into the pool and using the kick boards. She does not, however, like the idea of floating on her back. We are fortunate that we have several nice parks in our community where she can run around.

Miss Alexandra can express herself even better now, often pointing at things she wants. She says mom, da, uh-oh and up, although not always in context.  She will see Dave either in person or a picture and say da. Sometimes she points to the wrong person in the picture, but I think she understands da is daddy. There are times that she will look directly at me and say mom, but she also says ma for more. Lately when something falls she says uh-oh and on June 11th, she started saying up when she wanted to either go up the stairs or be picked up. She understands even more than these words she expresses. When there is a container, she can follow the directions open and close with the lid. If I mention that we are going upstairs, she will walk towards the stairs. When I say bye-bye, she waves and sometimes even for hello.

The play remote control is still one of her favorite things. It was the best $10 I have spent on her to date. She loves that thing. Of course, real remotes are still even more interesting. The second she sees my cell phone now, she wants it and even throws a mini-tantrum when I won't give it to her. Other things that she loves include stuffed animals, books, her baby laptop and a musical tea pot. She plays the same song over and over, which I sing to her in a British accent (imitating the song). She loves that! She likes when we sing to her, the favorite song being Itsy Bitsy Spider!

Alexandra loves books. She will frequently take every book out of the container where they are kept, flip through the pages and then toss it aside for the next one. Her favorites include the peekaboo books, Sophie the Giraffe books, Penguin Says Please and Itsy Bitsy Spider. She "reads" the peekaboo book over and over. Unfortunately, Miss A also likes the taste of books and has been caught eating them a time or two.

With nine teeth now, Alexandra has become a pretty good eater. She loves cheese puffs and veggie puffs, little owl crackers, strawberries, pancakes, breads of all kinds, Belvita crackers and juice. At Olive Garden the other night we got her a peach-mango smoothie that she loved! Another milestone is that she can drink through a straw and does it all the time with water now.

For Father's Day, we had lunch at Fuddruckers and then Dave went and did a Go Kart race at K1 Speed in Ontario. For dinner, we went to our favorite neighborhood restaurant called Teakwoods. Everyone there loves Alexandra and she loves them. They take the time to say hi, play peekaboo with her and I honestly think they are just happy to see us because we bring her along!!

A few other things: she has started trying to stand on her head, can climb up onto the ottoman in the media room, has her own chair in the living room, and is finally wearing sunglasses (although not all the time). She has the most adorable straw hat that she happily wears when we go outside. Miss A is a total night owl, often staying up until nine and even after ten on nights where she takes a nap too late in the day. Before I go back to school in August, I will have to change this and get her to bed earlier.

Here are some fun photos from Month #15!

13 Months and a Few Weeks

I planned on doing this blog update on Easter, which was exactly 400 days since Alexandra was born, but time slipped away from me. I wrote this weeks ago, but now here we are one week from 14 months and I am finally ready to post it. There is a lot to report since Alexandra's last update on her 1st birthday, but I will save some for next week. Here is what happened during her 13th month.

Alexandra loves climbing up the stairs. If left to herself, she would spend all of her time doing this, but it is quite tiring for the adults to chase after her. She is very comfortable walking now, although she still falls often. The first time that I put shoes on her, she cried and cried. Soon she became comfortable with them and now puts out her foot to help me put them on her. She has really cute sandals that she wears most of the time.

We had quite a few nights where we were up with her a few times a night, but that was because several teeth were coming in at once. Alexandra now has 8 total and is back to sleeping well most nights.

Alexandra earned the first stamp in her passport on March 28th when we arrived in Cancun, Mexico. We spent a week at the Westin Lagunamar in a great room that overlooked the pool and ocean. She enjoyed being able to look out the window at the view. Her favorite activity was definitely swimming, which she got to do every day but one. She really had picked up a lot at the swim lessons and would kick a lot when we tried to get her to float on her back. She also was really good with getting her face wet and even started using her arms to swim.

One of her favorites was the fountain in the lobby of our resort. Every time we would walk by it, she would get excited. She really liked being able to reach out and touch the water. It became a daily activity for her.

While in Mexico, Alexandra discovered that she likes bread. At a couple of different restaurants we gave her a small slice of bread which she ate. In addition, she loved re-fried beans! She is not really into finger foods yet, but has sampled string cheese, pasta, cucumber and melon. We give her little samples for her to try, but she still really likes her purees! In Mexico, we were able to expose her to lots of tropical juices including mango, which she really liked. She seems to like all juices. However, when we got home, I bought some pineapple, orange, guava juice which she refused to drink. Both daddy and I thought it was wonderful. And yet she drinks prune juice. She can be a silly girl sometimes!

We ate at Hooters a couple of times. And even though I am not normally a fan, I have to admit the food was good and the service was very good. The second time was for lunch and one of the waitresses was Alejandra. She was quite excited to meet Alexandra (whom we had been calling Alejandra all week) and not only took photos with her, but let her wear her name tag. It was very cute. All of the wait staff oohed and aahed over her. She was quite the center of attention!

Here are more photos from Mexico:

Alexandra attended her first Easter Egg Hunt when my mom's neighbors hosted one for all the kids on the cul-de-sac. She loved the eggs with money in them more than candy because of the noise they made when she shook them. She mostly seemed to enjoy watching the other kids. When we got home, I put cheerios inside them and now it is fun to shake them. She loves to grab them all out of the basket!

That is all I can remember from month 13. I promise to be more timely in the month 14 update! Here are more photos from this month:

I Am One Today!

Dear Loyal Readers,

One year ago I was rudely yanked from my comfy home and forced into this big world. But what a great thing that happened! This world is far more exciting (not to mention roomy) than my first home. At 3:56 PM, I will officially be one so that is when I am posting this blog entry.

What a year it has been, but if you have been reading my blog, then you already know! So I will just focus on the last month, which has been by far the most exciting. Why you ask? Because I have figured out how to walk! I can now take 15-20 steps on my own without falling. When I get too excited and try to walk faster is when I fall down. Lots of times I like to carry something small in my hand while I walk. And other times I have someone help me walk.

Yesterday there was a big party in my honor. What fun to see friends and family come celebrate little me! The best part was the cake. I have never tasted something so sweet and creamy. I could not get enough of the frosting. And the chocolate cake was not so bad either! I got so many fun new toys that I just don't know what to play with. I start with one, get bored easily and move on to the next. I got lots of toys that play music and make noise. I also got a couple of dolls, a stuffed dog, clothes and lots of love.

I am also taking swim lessons. We go twice a week and play games in the water. Sometimes I just like to observe or cling to mommy, but at yesterday's lesson, I even let the swim instructor Tori take me for a few minutes. I also sat on the pool side and clapped my hands before jumping into the water. This was an accomplishment for me as previously I had immediately jumped back at mommy! I am getting better and better each day. I am usually very serious, but I finally smiled at yesterday's lesson! I can't wait until summer when I can going swimming every day with mommy. Grandma Sara just brought me several more swimsuits to wear throughout the spring and summer!

I love to talk. I just wish someone would understand me because I feel like I am speaking a foreign language or something. My people just stare at me and don't do what I want them to do. Occasionally they will talk back to me, but it never is in the right context. They just don't speak baby!

Grandma Janet just returned from Korea and brought me a hat (which I could probably do without), a cute onesie and a stuffed Hello Kitty! I also got some hair bows and a purse. When Grandma Sara had gone to Asia, she also brought me some cool things. I like it when family members travel!

Well, I guess that is all for now. I can't believe I am officially a toddler!! Please make sure to check out the pictures from my party yesterday that mommy posted in a separate blog entry. I will try to update you next month when I am 13 months old. Until then...

Love,
Alexandra

Week Fifty

It is March 1st and that mean's we are just 2 weeks away from having a one year old! What a difference a year makes. This time last year, I was on my last day of work before maternity leave. Now I have a beautiful daughter sleeping in the other room who is about to celebrate her 1st birthday!

Week fifty has been an exciting one for sure! She took her first steps (that we are counting) on Sunday the 23rd. It is possible she took a step one time earlier, but it happened so fast and I had no one to witness it to tell me if it really happened. But on the 23rd both Dave and I saw it happen! I have not been able to get photographic or video evidence, but I will keep trying! Now Alexandra is up to about 4 steps at a time and I know soon she will be walking all over the place.

In addition, Alexandra had her first swim lesson this morning. While she was quite comfortable in the water, she was more interested in observing everyone else than in doing the activities the instructor wanted her to do. At first she cried when asked to float on her back, but once given a toy to play with (or put in her mouth was the case), she had no problem doing it. Then in the bathtub this afternoon she also had no problem laying on her back and getting her ears wet. Too funny! We are going to take lessons twice a week this month and then see where we are at.

Its been raining for the last two days and really hard. We have been going for walks almost every afternoon because the weather has been so nice. While we definitely need the rain, I would like a little break so that we can have a short walk. Maybe tomorrow.

We have been working on teaching Alexandra how to give a "high five" and she is getting it. She does not respond all the time, but most of the time. In addition, we are working on waving bye-bye.

I have only two more weeks left of daily photos and weekly blog updates. It will probably be very hard to break the habit of daily photos as it has been fun to put together a video that I will soon be sharing with you of her first year. Here are a few of my favorite photos from this week!

Eleven Months

Hello Loyal Readers,

Can you believe I am 11 months old! This has been a busy month for me. I celebrated my first Valentine's

Day just the other day, learned how to stand on my own and learned some new sounds.

Standing on my own is so much fun. I can do it for about 20 seconds before I fall down and I am so proud of myself! Everyone thinks I will be walking very soon. Another thing that I have started to do is kiss. Its not very obvious, but sometimes I will get close to mommy's arm with my lips. I even kissed my image on the phone!

I celebrated my 11th month in Redondo Beach! My Uncle Alex was visiting from Hong Kong and it was fun to see him again. I also got to spend time with my Grandma Sara, Grantie Lorel and Great Uncle David. Then we came home and went to dinner with Grandma Janet, so it was a great weekend! Plus, mommy spent four days straight with me!

Since this update is already a day behind, I will hurry this up. Here are some of my current likes and dislikes.

Likes:

• Stuffed animals are my favorite! I love to hug them. My favorite right now is the zebra that mommy got me for Christmas. I even take it with me on walks sometimes.
• I still love walks and with the warm weather have gotten several of them lately. 
• Yogurt, both strawberry and peach! I have some every day and it is so good! I also like yogurt juice.
• Electronics - anything and everything! I get so excited with cameras, phones, computers, etc. Mommy says my Twitter handle should be @techiebaby. Maybe she should see if it is available?
• Blankets! They are so much fun to cuddle with. I am not allowed to sleep with one at night, but I take naps on mommy or daddy's lap with a nice blanket.
• Mommy and Grandma Janet have been teaching me the word touchdown. Now when I put my hands in the air, they say touchdown and that makes me laugh.
• Funny words make me laugh too. I like "oopsie." That is a good one!

Dislikes:

• I still complain when mommy tries to clean my face after eating. 
• Sometimes I cry when mommy changes my clothes!
• Table food - I couldn't care less about these silly cheerios they put in front of me. And baked potatoes are awful! I like my purees thank you. The only exception is my arrowroot cookies. Those are pretty good.

Mommy wants me to tell you she is sorry that she has not been able to update the blog lately, but has added some photos from each week that was missing. Now that I am crawling she does have to spend more time chasing after me and I don't really let her near the computer so please forgive her.

That is all for now. I will see you in March for my 1st birthday!!

Love,
Alexandra

Week Forty Seven

What a week! It started off with watching the Super Bowl. Alexandra did wear orange since her Colorado family members love the Broncos, but thought her toys were far more interesting than the game. Sadly, I would have to agree! Magazines are so much fun to play with and tear apart!

A major milestone occurred this week as Alexandra stood on her own for the first time!

Alexandra attended her friend Taylor's 1st birthday party and then visited with Grandma Sara, Grantie Lorel and Great Uncle David in Orange County. Grandma Sara had just returned from 3 weeks in Asia!

10 Months

Dear Loyal Readers,

I am officially in double digits for months now!! I can't believe in just two months I will be a year old!

What a month! I celebrated my first Christmas and first New Year! Christmas was wonderful with pretty lights, a great smelling tree, ribbons, new things to play with and most importantly family. I even had my own tree in the family room. We took some professional photos at JC Penney's so be sure to check those out here. Being that this was my first Christmas, I received several special ornaments. My neighbor Tina made me an engraved ornament with my name and 2013. One of the ladies on the March mom's board sent me an ornament with my name, birth date, and birth statistics. It was part of a secret Santa exchange. Here is a picture of them. I also got a couple of other ornaments with "Baby's First Christmas" on them.

I am now pulling up on everything and cruising the furniture like a pro. Of course, many of the things I want to see and play with are ones mommy and daddy don't want me to. They are constantly moving me. In fact, as mommy tried to take my monthly, photo I was far more interested in standing on this chair to reach the number, than I was in sitting down. I have gotten really good at crawling and am exploring new areas like hallways, the kitchen and my bedroom. Tonight I actually stood on my own for a few seconds without falling. Mommy was so surprised and both of us were quite excited!

In other exciting news, I got my passport this week so I can now become a 4th generation world traveler!

It is my bedtime so I better hurry this up and share with you some of my likes and dislikes.

LIKES:

• I love to take my socks off. My Great Uncle David would not be pleased, but its been in the 80s during the day, so who really needs socks? 
• My stuffed animals, especially my white bear and zebra, are so fun to cuddle. I am very loving and make a sweet little noise when I see something cuddly that I want. That does include my blankets.
• Tupperware is so much fun to play with. I enjoy taking it all out of the cupboard at Marivel's house. She will then put it away and I will take it out again.

DISLIKES:

• Sometimes I get very upset when mommy puts a shirt over my head. I also cry when she tries to wipe my mouth after eating. She tells me that neither are forms of torture, but I am just not sure!

That is all for now. Mommy is sorry that she has fallen behind on weekly updates and will try to do a better job for the remaining weeks of my first year. She has now added weeks 41-43, so please go check those out, as well as the nice photo books she made. Until February...

Love,
Alexandra

Nine Months

Hello Loyal Readers,

December 16th was my 9 months or 3/4 birthday! I can't believe how fast time is going and how much I have accomplished in just one month. I now weigh 18 pounds 9 ounces. I have really grown!! Mommy thinks I am about 28 inches long, but we will know for sure on January 3rd when I have my next doctor's appointment.

The coolest thing I can do now that I could not last month is pull myself up and stand. Yes, I still have to hold on to furniture or mommy, but I am getting close. I really want to stand on my own and hope to do so by the New Year.

I met Santa Claus!!! Mommy and Grandma Janet took me to meet him last week. He seemed very nice, but I was not sure I wanted to sit on his lap. I was good long enough for a few photos, but then I started to cry. At least I got this one good photo and I even got a certificate saying that I have officially been put on the nice list! Now I have to make my list for what I want for Christmas.

Mommy got tired of me chewing on the TV remote so she bought me my own remote. It is so much fun and I love to bang at it. It makes all kinds of noises and teaches me about what remote controls can do.

I tried meat for the first time this month. I love everything. So far I have had chicken and apples, turkey and rice, chicken and veggies, beef and veggies, turkey and sweet potato. All are yummy. Now that I am 9 months old, mommy says I get to try even more foods.

I earned my 5th state this month and am going to be applying for a passport soon. I want to be a world traveler just like the rest of my family!

My favorite things right now are my remote control, a white Santa bear, a Santa rattle, my books and my jumperoo! I really don't have anything that I don't like, but when mommy gives me a stuffed toy, especially my Santa bear and Santa rattle, I give it a big hug and make this noise mommy describes as a "happy whimper."

We had a big party at our house and lots of people came. I got passed around. I like playing "pass the baby," but this was a little crazy. I even got to see my baby friends. Soon we will be able to run around and play like the older kids.

I love that I have gotten to see more of both of my grandmas. Mommy tells me that in just one week, I will get to see more of my family on Christmas Eve. Even cousin Brian is coming all the way from Boston just to see me (okay maybe its to see his own parents, but I am so cute that I am the bonus)! I did see my Grantie Lorel the other day when mommy and I were in Orange County for a birthday party. We stopped by where Lorel was getting her nails done just to say Hi!

Daddy took a trip to Phoenix this week and spent time with my Grandpa Stacy and Nana Kathy, as well as many other members of my family. I missed him while he was gone! Mommy lets me "talk" on the phone with him and I just can't figure out how he gets inside the phone! Some day I will understand, but for now I just stare and wonder where he is?

I am sorry my blog is late this month. Mommy has been sick and I had to wait for her to get well to help me finish this up. See you in 2014 for my 10th month!

Love,
Alexandra

Week Thirty Eight

Once again I am behind on blogging. I can't believe that its already week 40 and I still have not posted what I began to write two weeks ago! Alexandra continues to grow and her personality is so fun!

Alexandra has been trying to stand using everything in sight to pull her up. A lot of time is spent keeping her away from things that can hurt her. She loves using the couch to stand and even lets go with one hand. The look of pure accomplishment on her face is so fun to see. We all think she is trying to walk before the New Year.

Sleep has been a challenge as Alexandra decided to wake up at 4:15 on Friday the 6th. By the time she was ready to go back to sleep at 5:15, it was time for me to get up. Then on Saturday it was even worse! She woke up at 1:30!! Thankfully she went back to sleep after a bottle and slept until 6:15. It is not just that she makes noises when she wakes up, but that she stands up in her crib. So of course we have to get up and go and get her. A bottle seems to be all she needs to get back to sleep. Lets hope this little phase ends soon and we get our good sleeper back!

Saturday night we had our annual Chili & Cheer Holiday Party! We had a great turn out despite the rain that morning and everyone loved seeing Alexandra in her Santa dress. She had a chance to "play" with her friends Julian (born in April) and Jake (born in August). It will be fun next year when they really can "play" together! Here is a picture of her and Julian. Alexandra met some people for the first time: Mary, Melissa, Miranda, Bill, Steve, Sonya, and Jon. I think she had met everyone else prior to this.

This was another "Two Grandma Weekend" and Alexandra loved all the attention. Her Grandma Janet had been in Asia for a week so she was happy to see her on Friday when she got home. Grandma Sara came Saturday morning and spent all day with her while mommy and daddy got ready for the party. Alexandra loves having both her grandmas closer now and I am excited that we will all be together for Christmas! I love these pictures of my mom and Sara with Alexandra. They all look so happy!

Some more pictures from our holiday party:

Weeks Thirty Six and Thirty Seven

I am a whole week behind and then some behind!  I guess that is what happens when we are busy having fun! So I will do my best to recap the last two weeks. So much has happened and Alexandra is already another 1/2 month closer to one!

Highlights of Week Thirty Six:

• Alexandra stood for the first time in her crib! She was so proud of herself. Now she is pulling herself up all the time and even starting to cruise on the furniture!
• She had meat for the first time (pureed). Alexandra likes both turkey and chicken. She loves the chicken with apples! 

A Trip to Reno (Part of Both Weeks):

• Alexandra, Grandma Janet and I went to Reno to visit my Uncle Bob and Aunt Sarah. What a great time we had. Alexandra not only earned her 5th state (10% already at just 8 months), but she also met two Labrador retrievers and played (well more like tried to crawl in) the snow! While in Reno, we weighed her and she is 17.4 pounds! 

Highlights of Week Thirty Seven:

• Mommy was off all week which meant lots of quality girl time! Daddy had Thursday and Friday off so Alexandra got more time with him as well. 
• This week she celebrated her first Thanksgiving by sleeping through dinner! Yep, a two hour long nap right before dinner meant she missed it all. She did get pureed turkey, sweet potato and grains. We gave her a taste of cranberry and a taste of pumpkin. She did not seem interested in either.
• Alexandra went shopping with mommy and daddy on Black Friday. Don't worry, we did not even start out until 9 AM! She was a trooper and thankfully we did not really have any lines to wait in or big crowds since everyone else seemed to shop on Thanksgiving (which we refused to do).

Seven Months

Hello Loyal Readers! I can't believe it is time again for my monthly update. What a month it has been!

I guess the biggest change is that I can now sit up and play with my toys for several minutes at a time. It gives me a whole perspective on life that I did not have when I could only lie there looking up at the ceiling! I even started sitting in a high chair at restaurants and in the basket at the store. It is so much fun and allows me to people watch. When I meet someone for the first time, I stare at them intently. It is especially fun to meet other babies while we are out and about! This photo was taken at brunch last weekend to celebrate Grandma Janet's birthday.

I have several new toys that I love including a Jumperoo. There are so many gadgets to twist and I also like jumping up and down. I love stuffed toys. I have my monkey Keko that you already know about, but also have a purple kitty and a soft doll. It is so much fun to put them in my mouth. Another favorite that I am constantly trying to get a hold of is the TV remote. Mommy says it is not a toy for me, but it looks like it would be fun to chew. I also like trying to get Grandma Janet's cell phone.

My mouth is changing and there is this funny thing in my mouth. It is just peeking out from my gums, and mommy tells me it is a tooth. I have another one just waiting to break through and it has caused me to be fussy and cry. I am not sure what teeth are for just yet, but I am eager to find out!

I am getting more and more mobile every day. Mommy calls what I do "army crawling" because I move forward on my tummy rather than up on my knees. It may take me awhile, but I now have the ability to move towards an object that I desire. Watch out world, soon I will be crawling all over and getting into all kinds of trouble!

I have tried so many wonderful foods this last month including sweet potatoes, corn, apricots, mixed veggies and squash. I like almost everything, just don't even think about giving me green beans or I will cry!

In the mornings, Marivel's son, Dylan, is at the house and he often reads to me. I have lots of books and love when I get to "read" them. Here we are as Dylan reads me a Halloween story. One of my favorite books is "Squishy Turtle & Friends." It is a cloth book and so I can put it in my mouth. It also has something inside the book that makes this nice sound of crinkled paper. What fun it is to grab it and squish it in my hands!

I am getting very good at laughing. Mommy kisses my tummy when she is changing my diaper and it makes me laugh! She also sometimes kisses my cheeks over and over again just to get me to laugh. It is quite fun!

I was very uncooperative with mommy today when she tried to take my 7 month photos. I did not want to sit still. I wanted to crawl and kept trying to get off the chair. Some of them turned out cute even though I refused to pose as requested. I have to much to explore to just sit back while someone takes my photo!

I am growing a lot. I can now wear some 6-9 month clothes. It is fun moving up to a new size because there are so many new outfits for me to try on. Now that I am teething, I manage to get drool all over my clothes (unless someone makes me wear a bib)! I have enjoyed the cooler weather at nights because it means I get to sleep in cozy pajamas! They are so comfy! I also moved up a size in diapers and they fit so much better. They were getting a little tight. I am glad mommy finally figured that out!

I love to hear my voice. I can babble a lot and mommy tries to figure out which consonants I am using. She says "B" must be my favorite consonant because I use it a lot. I can scream! Mommy tells me it hurts her ears sometimes when I shout loudly, but it is so much fun to hear the different pitches I can make.

Well that is all for this month. I will see you on November 16th. Until then, keep reading mommy's weekly
updates!

Love,
Alexandra

Week Twenty Seven

It's Saturday again? How is that possible? Time is flying by now that I am back at work. That is a good thing because it means we are getting closer to Thanksgiving Break when I will get a whole week with Alexandra. But it also means that Alexandra is also growing up so fast.

The big news of the week is that Alexandra can sit up on her own. She is able to sit for several minutes without toppling over. This means there is a whole new world of play for her. She has yet to pull herself up from a lying position to sitting, but I am sure that will come soon.

She is a pro at rolling now and spends a lot of her time on her tummy. Speaking of tummies, Alexandra tried sleeping on her tummy on Monday night. Mommy would not have any of that because 1) it is safer for babies to sleep on their backs or sides and 2) she always cries when she is on her tummy in the crib. She tried again on Tuesday, but realized that mommy would simply roll her over if she got caught. Now she is back to the normal side sleeping with her legs completely out of her crib. She seems to like that best!

Alexandra tried sweet potatoes this week which she liked. She also had her first taste of non-pureed food. Marivel cut up a piece of pear and put it in a mesh container. Alexandra then was able to hold it and suck the juice out of the pear. She loved it.

Tonight we went to a Toastmasters potluck. It was fun to see everyone and they loved seeing Alexandra.

There is not much else to report since Alexandra just posted her monthly update on Monday. So I will just end by sharing some other photos taken since Monday. Alexandra decided to help me grade papers one night and tried to eat the essays. Now I will have to explain to a few students why their papers are all crumpled!

Six Months - Half Birthday

Hello Loyal Readers,

Its my 1/2 birthday! I am 6 months old! Wow - time flies when you are having fun!

It has been a busy month for me and I have grown so much. I have been a lot hungrier this past month and mommy says that is because I am a growing girl. If you look at mommy's blog post from Saturday, you will see that I have grown both in inches and in pounds.

I have lots of nicknames. Mommy calls me Smiley Girl and Sweet Stuff. Grandma Janet calls me Cute Stuff, Queen of Adorable and Sweet Pea. Both call me Sunshine, particularly in the morning...as in "Good Morning Sunshine!" and Prune Face when I have prunes all over me after eating them! Daddy also calls me Sweet Pea and Lady A (that you already knew). Everyone calls me Sweet Girl.  I love all the nicknames and give lots of smiles!

I want to explore my world and am ready to start crawling. Now if I could just get my arms and legs to cooperate, I would be unstoppable! I am getting really good at sitting on my own. When someone sits me on the ground, I can stay up for a whole minute before I topple over. Mommy says soon I will be able to sit up from when I am lying down. I really am not excited about lying down unless I am taking a nap or on my play mat. In fact, I did not want to cooperate for this month's laundry basket photo. Mommy and grandma got a couple of photos before I started crying.

I love playing with my toys. Everything goes in my mouth. There is no object off limits as far as I am concerned. I have tried to taste mommy's phone and other items she owns, but she does not let me. I don't know why I can't taste them! My favorites are my monkey (Keko), Sophie the Giraffe, items that hang from my play mat like a giant ladybug, and my musical turtle. Oh and I love my feet. They taste so good and my hands. Sometimes I even try to see how mommy and grandma's hands taste. I don't think they are as good as mine are.

I know mommy has told you how much I love my food. I am really good at feeding myself. Yes, some of it does end up all over my face, but I like it that way. In fact, I get really angry and start crying when mommy or grandma try to clean my face after a meal. Pears, peaches and prunes are my favorite. I smack my lips after I eat them (and after I drink my milk) to show how yummy they are. Speaking of milk, I am learning sign language. Mommy, Marivel and Grandma all make a sign with their hands when they say milk. They make a fist and open and close it. They also are teaching me Spanish. Leche is the word for milk and I know what milk is when they ask if I want some.

Mommy thinks I am funny. Last night, I tried to drink my bottle and put my pacifier in my mouth at the same time. Mommy laughed so much. I laugh too sometimes, but I was serious about wanting both at the same time. She tried to take my photo, but was not successful. Speaking of cameras, I want mommy's. I try to grab for it all the time. I can't wait until I am old enough to have my own! Mommy is doing a 365 day photo challenge and has all but 2 days of my life so far. She did not start until July so realized that there were two dates in May that she somehow failed to take a photo of me. I really do not understand how that happened considering there are over 4,300 photos in her file folder entitled "Alexandra." I wonder if that is how many she will take over the next 6 months?

I love to read and have many books. Everyday Marivel reads to me. Sometimes I also get a bedtime story from mommy. Most nights I am just too tired to focus. I just got some new books about Halloween. I am looking forward to this holiday as it sounds like fun. I am going to be Minnie Mouse this year. I have my costume all picked out and hope it fits me by Halloween.

I really enjoy meeting new people and am a real people watcher. Yesterday mommy and grandma took me to Aliso Viejo (in Orange County) to see the Allens, Rifkins and D'Souzas! It was lots of fun but it made me really tired and cranky. As a result, I went to bed early last night.

I got to meet baby Jacob who is only 1 month old. You would think he would be tiny, but he is as big as me. In fact, his feet are bigger than mine. My foot is the one on the left. I can't wait until he is older and we can play together. Here are a couple of pictures to share:

Thanks for reading my blog. I know some of you only read my monthly updates, but my mommy is a pretty good writer too and you should check out her weekly updates while you are here. See you on October 16th!

Love,
Alexandra